The three qmen.us profiles: guest, waiter and owner

What choosing a profile does, and what it doesn't

There are three qmen.us profiles: guest, waiter and owner. When you sign in with Google you land on the Great to see you here! screen and see two cards — I own a restaurant and I'm a waiter. Picking neither is also an answer: the button then reads Continue as a guest, and that's how most people go on, because guest is the default for anyone who just wants to follow their order at the table.

What this choice does is decide your way in. Owner goes to the restaurant sign-up, waiter goes to the Where you're a waiter list, guest goes to My visits. What it doesn't do is grant power: in the system, the owner is whoever is on record as that restaurant's administrator, and a waiter is someone the owner has connected by email. Picking I own a restaurant on any old account doesn't give you access to any restaurant.

Why we ask this when you sign in

• Nobody has to memorize a link. Each profile opens on a different screen, and we take you there. The owner lands on the restaurant's Dashboard, the waiter on the list of restaurants where they work, the guest on the tables where they've already sat.
• Guest is the default because guests are the majority. Someone who scans the table QR code doesn't even need an account to order and follow along. The account is for keeping a history of visits and reopening the tab later, from another phone.
• Getting it wrong costs nothing. The profile doesn't delete, block or create anything on its own. You can switch as often as you like through the link at the bottom of the choice screen itself.
• Permission is a different thing. Whoever runs the restaurant is its administrator; whoever can take orders is a linked waiter or someone with the staff password. The profile marked on the account plays no part in that.

How to choose between the qmen.us profiles in 6 steps

Six steps: from the sign-in button to knowing how to change your mind without worry.

1. Sign in with Google

   On the sign-in screen the main path is a single button: Sign in with Google. There's no email-and-password sign-up for an account. Just below is the or sign in as staff block, with Restaurant code and Staff password — that shortcut goes straight to the waiter app or the kitchen, without going through the profile choice.

2. Read the Great to see you here! screen

   It has two cards and a button. I own a restaurant says: build the menu, create the tables and manage the team. I'm a waiter says: take table orders right from your phone. If neither one is you, don't tap anything — the button already reads Continue as a guest.

3. Stay a guest if you're just there to eat

   Tap Continue as a guest and you land on My visits: every table you've sat at, with the restaurant's name, the table number and when it was. That's where you go back to the table and reopen the tab. On that same screen there's a Work at a restaurant? block, closed, for when you change your mind.

4. Tap I own a restaurant if the restaurant is yours

   The card gets marked, the button changes to Continue and you land on New restaurant, which asks just one question: what your place is called. Type the name, tap Create and the restaurant starts out with a Default kitchen already in place. If your account already owns a restaurant, this path skips straight to the Dashboard: each account owns at most one restaurant.

5. Tap I'm a waiter if you serve the tables

   Tap Continue and Where you're a waiter opens, the list of restaurants that added your email. At that moment we look for pending connections to your Google email and link them automatically, even at more than one restaurant. Tap the restaurant's name to open the order-taking screen.

   Tip: Empty list? The match goes by exact email. Ask the owner to add the same Google email you used — the screen itself shows which one — and reload: the check runs again on every visit.

6. Switch profiles whenever you like

   At the bottom of the choice screen there's the settings link. It reopens the same screen with your current profile already marked, and tapping the marked card again takes you back to the guest default. Nothing is lost along the way: restaurant, menu, tables and tabs stay where they were, because the profile is only the shortcut to the start screen.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Table

Each spot in the dining room registered in the system, with its own QR code for opening orders.

Tab

The open bill of a table, where items add up until it's closed.

Kitchen

The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.

Menu

The screen that holds your items, categories, prices and photos. It's the source of the digital menu guests see through the table QR code.

Table QR code

The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.

Waiter

The person who takes orders on a phone at the waiter URL, using the staff password.

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